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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Committee, on September 22,d, marked up legislation (S. 1211), introduced by Senator Robert Bennett <br />(R -VT) that would raise the ceiling of funding for Reclamation's Basinwide Salinity Control Program <br />from $75 million to $175 million. The bill was amended at the mark-up to require the Bureau of Land <br />Management to produce an annual report on its portion of the salinity control program. The bill was <br />passed out of committee as amended and is awaiting placement on the Senate Floor Calendar. To <br />date, there are five cosponsors of the bill. They are Senators Allard (CO), Feinstein (CA), Kyl (AZ), <br />Enzi (WY), and Thomas (WY). <br /> <br />The House version of the bill (H.R. 2619) has now been scheduled for Committee hearing on <br />October 21, 1999. Mr. Jack Barnett, Executive Director of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control <br />Forum (Forum), will be in attendance at the hearing and will provide testimony on behalfofthe Basin <br />States and deliver the Board's testimony in support of the legislation. <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum and Advisory Council <br /> <br />The Forum is scheduled to hold its fall meeting on Wednesday, October 271h in San Francisco, <br />California. Includcd in the handout material is a copy of the proposed agenda. <br /> <br />The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council (Council) is scheduled to meet <br />October 26'\ at which time Council members will be briefed on the status of salinity control activities. <br />The Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection <br />Agency (EPA) will each present a progress report and schedule of individual activities related to the <br />salinity control program. Included in the handout material is a copy of the Federal Accomplishments <br />Report for Fiscal Year 1999. <br /> <br />Perchlorate Contamination of the Colorado River <br /> <br />Included in the Board folder, as an informational item, is a copy of EPA's response to the <br />Board's letter requesting its support in cleaning up the perchlorate contamination emanating from the <br />Henderson, Nevada area. <br /> <br />In its response, EP A discusses two cleanup actions that have been put into place to intercept <br />and treat the contaminated groundwater. It estimates that 140,000 pounds of perchlorate have been <br />removed by these actions to date. The third action involves a Consent Agreement with Kcrr-McGee <br />Chemical Corporation to develop a long-term remedy for perchlorate contaminated groundwater in <br />the Henderson area, and a short-term remedy to collect and treat a surface discharge recently <br />discovered approximately 100 feet from Las Vegas Wash. The Consent Agreement also provides for <br />negotiating the implementation of long-term groundwater cleanup issues. <br /> <br />Atlas Corporation's Uranium Mill Tailings <br /> <br />In recent months, both the Forum and the Board have corresponded with EPA's Administrator <br />expressing our concerns over the issue of potential impacts to the Colorado River by the existence of <br />the Atlas Corporation's disposal of uranium mine tailings so near the River. <br /> <br />6 <br />